Ultimate X: Naruto
by Stone Shield
Summary: Betrayed by his poeple, Naruto is swept away into the Marvel Universe.  M for language, for now.


Ultimate X: Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ultimate X-Men.

Speaking Normally

_Thoughts_

**Demonic Voice**

_**Demonic Inner Voice/Thoughts**_

Chapter 1, Tough Rocks, Pal

It wasn't like he hadn't expected it. He'd hoped it wouldn't come about, praying, begging the gods that it would never happen…but it did. The day he'd turned nineteen, his life had changed forever. The seal had fully activated, Kyubi's power had been absorbed, and he…he had become a monster. At least, that's what everyone yelled at him as they hunted him.

"Demon!"

"Monster!"

"Freak!"

"Abomination!"

Never had those words hurt more than they did right then. And then it all went bad. ANBU had captured him. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, only that he was waking up with the taste of his own blood in his mouth, an aching headache, and the smell of…smoke? His eyes fluttered owlishly as he opened them. Only, he wished he hadn't. The smoke, it was all around him, the wafting clouds burning his eyes, and he was tied to a massive stake on a pile of wood.

He was being burned alive.

It wasn't a ninja of the village that saved him. No friend.

Deus Ex Machina is referred to as the 'hand of God', reaching down to pluck the hero from a hairy situation. Though whether it leaves the hero in a better or worse situation is really a coin toss. That was what saved him, mostly. Kyubi was gone, but what remained was his power and it knew that its master's life was in peril. Affected by its master's cries, it acted.

It is said that if the will is strong enough, anything is possible. That said, can anyone do it; clear the mind and focus solely on one desire, one need? And desire it enough to actually will it into reality? Most of the time it is nearly impossible to do as few people in the world have a will strong enough to do so. Naruto was one such person. And though it was only a thought, it was filled with so much sincerity and need it practically came into fruition on its own. His thought: "I need to leave."

Another Dimension/Reality:

The Sanctum Sanctorum, home to Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme and practitioner of the occult arts. What few know is the Sanctum Sanctorum is a nexus, a converging point between all realities and dimensions.

And it was at that very moment that Stephen Strange, from his study, felt a rippling through the realm. Something was coming, fast. But before he could even move, a gout of flame appeared before him, ending in a quiet 'thud' sound. He could honestly say of all the things he'd expected this wasn't one of them. The air had filled with the acrid stench of scorched flesh as smoke rose from what Strange could make out to be a burnt human body. With all he'd seen, it still took an effort to hold down the rising urge to vomit. As a former medical doctor, he could see that most of the skin and muscles were burnt off, leaving bones visible. What startled him the most were two things. First, to his surprise this person was still alive, and second, was healing via an energy with a demonic base. But first things first. In a swirl of smoke, he and the near dead figure were gone.

Some Time Later:

Xavier sighed sadly as he thought of the young man he'd been counseling for the last month and a half. There had been progress, but it was slow goings. It had taken more than three weeks just to get a response from him and even then he still wouldn't open up. Once he was reasonably sure the boy wasn't a danger to the others, he'd allowed him free reign to move around the property. He had told Cyclops and Jean of the young man but they had yet to meet him as he seemed reluctant to meet strangers. It had taken this long just for teen to open up to him alone, and he didn't want to hinder his counseling by rushing him.

Still, he was fascinated by what Strange had said and what the blood tests had revealed. Strange had mentioned that a part of the boy was demonic, biologically speaking. It was the blood tests that astounded him though. According to the tests, his dna was an almost exact match for any other mutant, even having a variation of the x-gene. He'd had to run the test three times before he was convinced…he was a mutant, for the most part. But several genes had mutated allowing for his odd physical changes…the ears, the tails…tails, plural, nine of them. And then, once he'd woken, he seemingly suppressed the features through force of will. Strange said he was human, but from a parallel dimension very close to the borders of their own realm. No matter how much sense it made, it still boggled him.

Now though, he wondered how much longer until the young man recovered. After his initial probing of the late teen's mind, he'd felt sickened for several days from what he'd seen. From that point on, he'd expressly forbidden Jean from ever even attempting to enter his mind. She wasn't ready to see such atrocities. Even if for a moment, for a split second, as he reviewed what he'd seen in the young man, Naruto's mind, the things they'd done to him…for that one moment he couldn't help but feel Erik was right.

For the moment he considered the recruits that Scott, aka 'Cyclops', and Jean, Marvel Girl, as she'd been dubbed, were gathering. They were a rather eclectic bunch, each having their own problems that governed their lives, and each with a powerful gift of their own. Hank McCoy, a brilliant young man who happened to possess incredible strength, agility, and acrobatic skills, and who would now go by the alias 'Beast'. Then there was Ororo Munroe, a runaway who had many lesser than legal skills. Her mutation allowed her an amazing control over the weather. And lastly was Peter Rasputin, a Russian immigrant who, as of late, had been working for the Russian mafia. It was his unique ability to change the composition of his entire body from flesh to an organic metal of surprising strength. They were the ones that would spread his message of tolerance to the world, his X-Men.

Truth be told, some obstacles can't be seen even by those possessing psychic powers.

Several Months Later: Things had changed as a new recruit to the team arrived almost immediately. Bobby Drake, now named Iceman, had been rescued during a Sentinel attack and was now a part of the X-Men.

Returning from the latest session with the blonde, he felt a measure of hope for him. He had become almost like any other person in his behavior, though sometimes he would drift off as his thoughts wandered. As much of an improvement as this was, the night's counseling session gave him the most hope he'd felt since meeting the boy. His ending words, "I still feel I'm missing something…" Those words had been repeated to him at the closing of each session for a full week. He understood what the young man meant though. It wasn't uncommon for those who'd suffered psychological trauma to feel lost and usually needed to search their soul and memories for some answer. The uplifting mood was lost however when the attack began.

Wraith sneered down at the unconscious form of the psychic at his feet. The scars on his face stretched tightly against the skin as he smirked. Things had gone nearly perfectly, the only real annoyance being that Weapon X, Wolverine, wasn't there. "Damn," he thought before mentally reassuring himself, "Well, we'll find him." Again he looked at the bald man on the ground, just wishing he could hear what he had to say. "I wish you were awake now to see what we're gonna do with your kids, Charlie. I've got plans for them. Congratulations, you're all working for the enemy now," he spoke smugly, a firm sense of conviction filling him as he watched the mansion burn. The flames danced happily in his eyes as he turned away and had a soldier grab Xavier.

Inwardly, he mused. There had been one anomaly besides Wolverine not being present. His men had found a room with a blonde teen in it. The young man hadn't put up much of a fight, but from what his men said, he might be insane, as he kept mumbling to himself and seemed to be half asleep during the entire operation. Oh well, they'd learn about him soon enough.

The compound had been busy as the X-Men were trained in combat by the military personnel. The worry for each other kept them from breaking out, that and the tiny explosives surgically placed in their skulls. And with said leverage of their teammates, they were sent on missions. Their contempt was barely kept in check though as hatred for their captors grew. But the biggest victory yet was the recovery of Weapon X. It took some creative persuading, meaning he'd been pulped, but the mutant in question was now in a cell with the others. That news alone would have made Wraith's day. His focus lately had been on the blonde mutant that his men had found at Xavier's. The scientists seemed to make some big deal over him, but so far the only power he exhibited was to heal like Wolverine. Unfortunately, he'd been unconscious since he'd been picked up making him absolutely useless. It had been considered to give him claws like Wolverine but there wasn't any point if the freak never woke up. Until he did, as far as Wraith was concerned, he was as good as a corpse.

In the lab, where Naruto lay on a cold steel table, scientists were eagerly examining their findings. Their priorities were no longer trying to awaken him; he was a specimen to be studied. But while on the outside, the blonde was unresponsive, on the inside, his search continued.

In Naruto's Mind:

The corridors of his mind were dark, but that did little in deterring him. He didn't know what he was looking for exactly, only that he needed an answer. He didn't even know the question and yet he knew that what he sought was an answer of sorts. Each hall and every door lead to memories and dreams of the past. It was unfortunate, though not unexpected, that there were so many black doors, symbolizing bad experiences and memories, as opposed to the white doors which represented the happier memories. But still, he searched every one of them, good and bad. In the end there was only one place left to search, a place he'd purposefully neglected to search as it wasn't a room that belonged to him. It was the room where Kyubi's memories, since the sealing, had been stored. Tentatively, his hand reached for the knob, only for the door to open on its own accord. "I've been waiting for you," a thick, ancient voice spoke, the owner covered by a heavy blanket of darkness.

"Kyubi?" Naruto asked somewhat hopefully, and fearfully. Cautiously stepping into the room, he looked for the speaker. The sound of footsteps echoed in the room like it was a massive cavern.

"A shadow of Kyubi; a memory of the one you knew."

The darkness began to fade as ambient light grew the further he walked into the room. Soon enough, he was able to make out the tall figure of a man in the center, simply standing there. He couldn't see his face, but he could sense something familiar about the shrouded figure, something that seemed achingly familiar to Kyubi.

"Who are you?"

"I am all that remains of Kyubi. Even with its consciousness gone, I was left behind."

"What are you?"

"I am the collection of your memories of Kyubi as well as a few of its own. YOU created me when you couldn't find the answers you sought anywhere else."

Naruto took that all in slowly. "So…you know what I'm looking for? How? I don't even know what I'm looking for!"

"You may not consciously be aware of it, but I know it because I am a part of your mind, of your memories."

Sighing deeply, his shoulders sagged almost as if in defeat. He didn't know what he was looking for. It had stuck in his mind like a splinter, slowly driving him mad. He'd felt like a part of him was missing, the part that identified him as…him. "Who am I now?" he asked, his voice, a mere ghost of a whisper, echoing throughout the room. It wasn't a matter of who he was in the matter of identity, but as a person. When he'd merged with Kyubi and the village had turned on him, a part of him had broken.

"No one can tell you who you are but you, yourself. When you and Kyubi merged, it did not change who you were inside. You are still the you that you have been your entire life….and that is why he chose you to bare his power."

Naruto's head shot up at hearing that. "What?"

There was only silence for several seconds. Finally though, the figure answered again, but this time its voice was wispy and almost faded. Its words struck him to the core, like a hot brand burning into his mind. These words were:

"_Learn…_

You believe you stand upon solid ground, that the earth is firm beneath your feet. You are wrong. The ground moves beneath you. It swarms and flexes and flows, like water through sand, like muscle beneath tissue. In constant motion. Put your hand to the ground, and feel the heartbeat of the earth. Hear the whisper of the builders and shapers. Eaters and destroyers.

And hunters.

The fox hunts because that is its nature. And because it knows the secret. That the blood of its prey is the milk of the world. And it is sweet. That the answer to the question you ask in the middle of the night. In the darkness of your heart where you think that no one can see, or hear. That one singular question that is at the core of your being. And that question is-

-Why me?

There were so many others that could have received its power. The hunter. Wounded. Dying. Angry. Why you? Given the power, what would they have done with it? They would have sought renown, perhaps. Sought riches. They were soft, especially the ones who thought themselves so hard. They would have crumbled under the weight of the gift. They would not have known what to do with it. Because they were not hunters. Why you? Because you were a hunter without teeth. You were chosen for your rage.

You were chosen because of every casual wound you suffered. Chosen for every time you were tripped, trapped, struck, beaten and humiliated before others. Chosen for the fury you were forced to hold in check, for the words you could not speak. Chosen for the blind rage that gripped your heart like a vise at every fist and foot and rock that hit and kicked and cut you. And for the greatest rage of all, the one you reserved for yourself, for being unable to fight back, because there were always more of them, and they were always bigger, and they were always stronger.

But what if things changed? Who could be a better hunter than one who had been prey?

Someone who would be driven to fight back against the dark forces sent by the world, who would never stop even though they were bigger and more and perhaps even stronger than he was. Because having once been prey, he would never allow himself to become such again. Would never surrender. Would take death before submission. Why you? Because of all those who were there that day, there was only one hunter. And as the science you worship tells you…like attracts like, the presence of the observer affects the observed, and at the end of the mathematical day, there are no accidents, no coincidences. There is only…

Professional courtesy."

And as the voice faded, the dark faded and the figure was revealed. Naruto's eyes widened as he took in the person before him. How could he not be surprised, after all it was him, Naruto himself! But with differences. It was a Naruto with red streaked blonde hair that seemed even shaggier than it usually was. The whisker marks that he himself once bore, this mirror image did now, only darker than he remembered. Eyes once blue, now red, an influence of Kyubi. And besides that the six foot tall young man sported nine glorious blood red tails. The Kyubi-Naruto shade smiled back at him wryly, fangs sticking out prominently.

"The future is yours. The power is yours. Use it wisely." And before his albeit shocked eyes the Kyubi-Naruto faded away like a ghost, almost as if it had never even existed.

As the background faded back to the village setting he'd set up, his mind whirled. He knew he'd gotten an answer but it wasn't a simple one. He would need to think about this. Now though, he should probably talk to his guest.

"I'm sorry, Professor, it took longer than I thought." There, sitting beside him on one of the stools at Ichiraku Ramen was the bald Professor Charles Xavier. He wasn't eating anything, choosing to watch people walk by oblivious to his presence. Not that they were even real people, just mental shadows of the people in the village…Versions that hadn't tried to kill him…

"Thank you, Professor. This was something I needed to do, and your guidance was a great help," spoke the relieved, if a bit mentally fatigued, blonde as he sat down on an adjacent stool.

"I showed you the doors. It was you who had to open them and see what lay beyond. But I'm afraid time is short."

Naruto frowned, "What's going on? I vaguely remember some guys in black, then…nothing. I simply thought it was a dream."

Xavier shook his head. "It was no dream, my boy," and he showed Naruto what had happened, that he knew so far.

"I hate militaries," Naruto groaned.

"Indeed. Wraith is unaware that I am still conscious, if barely. I can hide my thoughts for a while longer, but you need to wake up. Please, help my students," the man asked humbly.

"You helped me; I'm already in your debt."

"Thank you. You might want to awaken soon. I sense the physicians monitoring you are planning something," Xavier added, his face looking strained.

In Lab 37B:

The surgeon was working the whining bone saw along the unconscious blonde teen's chest when a blur of movement and a crushing grip stopped him. Instantaneously, a pair of slit blue eyes opened, glaring at the now thoroughly frightened man. "GuuuaaaaAahh!" the doctor screamed bloodcurdlingly as the viselike grip brought him to his knees. With a small grunt of pain, the blonde ripped his other arm loose from the restraint and removed the still buzzing saw from his chest. The only sign that he was actually in pain was the sight of his tense jaw as the blade pulled free from his sternum. The whole time, his grip held strong on the doctor's arm, nearly pulverizing the bones. A door opened up to his right and a trio of camouflaged guards rushed in. Seeing their weapons, he threw the doctor at them with a fair show of strength.

"Rrrghh," he grunted in annoyance, feeling the bone, muscle, and skin knit seamlessly back together. He noticed something else, too. "Where the fuck are my clothes!...At least they left my boxers alone," he growled. Climbing off the table, he headed for the door. One of the guards, beginning to stir, received a strong kick to the head. "Don't get up, I'll let myself out." Xavier'd said his students were here, too. He needed to find them. If the people here were willing to cut him open, there was no telling what had been done, or was being done, to them.

Walking down the hall, passing the occasional guard and knocking them out playfully, he paused at a door with an interesting sign. "Hmm, 'High Voltage'. This looks promising."

The power went down on a base wide scale, an ominous darkness filling the complex. In the cell area, each individual prison sealed via a laser grid powered by the base's power supply suddenly darkened as the glowing grid pattern of energy faded. At that precise moment, as the lights darkened, and the barriers of the cells faded, there happened to only be one guard, a corporal, present in the immediate area. To the soldier's rising anxiety and fear, the mutants within slowly left their cells, filling the large walkway. Hands shaking, his right hand steadied his rifle, or attempted to, and his left slowly, jerkily, held up the remote trigger for the explosives implanted within them. "St-Stay back, freaks… Now, all of you, back in your cells! Don't make me blow your fucking heads off!" Beads of sweat rolled down his face. No one moved. "I warned you!" he threatened once more and pressed a button on the small control pad. 1…2…3…4…nothing.

"You can't blow up what isn't there anymore," spoke a feminine voice behind him. His fear mounting from the lack of explosion increased further as he turned around. Crowded in the hallway behind him were the Brotherhood of Mutants, figures he recognized as Wraith wanted to capture the two progeny of the mutant Magneto. "_Oh shit_," he thought.

At the head of the group were Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, the latter with her arm outstretched. There, in a small pile on her palm were several dozen miniaturized explosives no bigger than an aspirin. Her lips curled into a Cheshire grin. "Abracadabra."

There was only one open path left for him to take, an open hall on the eastern side of the room behind him. The soldier planned to run, but didn't get the chance. Automatic gunfire echoing from beyond said egress bolstered his belief in turning the tied. A hope soon dashed as several bodies flew out of the hall to land at his feet in an unconscious heap. Slow, deliberate footsteps came ever closer until a form could be discerned from the darkness.

"Started the party already, eh," echoed a deep, humorous voice. From the shadows emerged a tall, shaggy-haired blonde. "Yo," he greeted cheekily with a small wave. Most of Xavier's mutants immediately recognized him as the young man the professor had been treating. "Good to see you're all okay," he said appraisingly.

"Define 'okay'," muttered a furry, blue x-man.

From what Xavier'd showed him, he could only be Hank McCoy…and he wasn't supposed to be covered in fur.

"Where're your clothes?" noted Cyclops, stating the obvious.

"I was dissected," he answered easily, with a hint of pride, like it happened every other day.

"Can we go already?" Bobby asked, exasperated at the casual conversation they were having in enemy territory.

"How'd you know we where we were?" asked Scott.

"Yeah, I thought you were still a veg," added Ororo.

Naruto grinned, displaying a pair of sharp canines. "The answer to both of your questions is bald and has a wheelchair."

"The Professor?" many of the X-Men gasped out. In their entire stay, they had never seen him. A few of them had even worried that he might have been dead.

"Yeah. He'd been in my head so much lately that my mind was fairly easy to reach, even with his restricted abilities."

"Restricted?" asked Hank, curiously.

Naruto's frown deepened. "Wraith has him hooked up to some big toy, that's all I know. He guided me back and asked that I help you guys get out. Hence, the blackout. Though-" he turned to the Brotherhood. "I was not expecting anyone else to come to the rescue." He winked at the Scarlet Witch, who actually blushed. "But we have to find Xavier," he said, growing serious.

"Agreed."

"You know, it's the simple things in life you enjoy the most," Naruto said, mildly satisfied, as he slammed two soldiers' heads into the floor. It wasn't enough to kill them, but the headaches they would have would probably make them wish he had.

Freed, the once prisoners were doing what came naturally in their position, blowing shit up. And with the added help of the Brotherhood, it was going splendidly. Guards were falling to the ground like limp noodles from the beatings they were receiving.

"OH DEAR GOD!" Wraith shouted, enraged. "The mutants have taken over half the blasted **compound**, Cornelius!" He turned a fierce glare on the doctor. "Can't you do something clever with Xavier's **psychic abilities** and give them all **aneurisms** or something," he proceeded to bellow at the unnerved scientist.

The bearded scientist shook his head. The colonel just didn't understand at times. "Not while the **electricity** is down, Colonel Wraith," he stressed. It was obvious. "In fact, now that there's nothing keeping him in **check**, our biggest concern should be what Xavier's going to do when he **wakes up**."

"What?" the Colonel deadpanned.

Throughout the base, chaos ensued, unabated. In truth, without their feeble control over them, the soldiers were falling like dominos.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE'S GONNA WAKE UP?" Wraith roared in a mix of worry and apprehension. They had no countermeasures prepared for such an even occurring inside the base. Especially not from a psychic of Xavier's strength.

"Well, why **shouldn't** he? The only thing that was letting us **control** him were the **neural clamps**, and now that the **machine** isn't working… Well, my guess is that we've got approximately five to ten minutes to get **out** of here," Dr. Cornelius surmised, looking over the report sheet for confirmation. The sound of a metallic 'KLAK!' noise made him shoot around, only to find Wraith raising his firearm.

"**UNACCEPTABLE**, CORNELIUS. ABSOLUTELY **OFF-THE-SCALE** UNACCEPTABLE-"

"WRAITH! What on Earth are you **DOING!**"

9 millimeter poised, "Just giving us one less mutie to **worry** about," Wraith answered calmly, resolute, and fired at Xavier's prone, defenseless form.

Dropping from the ceiling, a blonde blur landed amidst the holed up soldiers. "Psst."

"Shut up, Wachowski," a short man grit out.

"I didn't say nuthin'!"

"Hi, guys!" Naruto cried, delivering a sweeping chest level kick that flattened the near half dozen men and women. It took a few seconds more to put the conscious ones out, but that was done easily enough. Grinning contently, he continued on his little spree of ass whoopings.

"All clear?" asked the visor wearing X-Man as Naruto rejoined them, sending out sporadic bursts from his eyes as soldiers popped into sight.

"Like a ghost town," the blonde answered, grabbing a struggling soldier and locking him in a sleeper hold. He didn't let go until the body went limp. Another down.

A quick series of shots cracked off. "Aw, man, not again," Naruto growled. They hurt like Hell, too.

"You alright?" Cyclops asked, quickly taking out the sniper.

Grimacing, "Yeah, just let me dig them out…" There were a few metal pinging sounds as the rounds were pushed out of his flesh by his enhanced healing factor. "Ugh, much better." Scott made a mental note to ask about that later.

"There's no **running**, Doctor Cornelius!" Hank roared as he bounded down the halls toward the labs where the "good docotor" would undoubtedly be. "I can small you, **whichever** part of this place your hiding in." Arriving in front of the doors of the very lab where they had…operated…on him, he sank his clawed fingers into the metal crease of the doors, prying them apart. With the power down, he had to rely on his brutish strength to open passage.

"I hope you appreciate the **irony**, because I wouldn't **have** these senses if you hadn't given me this despicable **feral snout**. Brought down by your own **hubris**." He was on a verbal tear now. The door's sealing mechanism finally gave way and he was able to pull it open enough to pass through. "I like to think of it as **poetic justice**!"

Unfazed, "McCoy, would you **shut up** for a minute and give me a **hand** here? If we don't get these bullets out of **Xavier's chest**, he's going to **bleed** to death all over the floor!" Dr. Cornelius roared back at the blue, furry man.

"Professor?" Beast whispered.

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood and X-Men were battling alongside each other against the military forces still in good supply. Blob was…detaining…the good Colonel, while Cyclops, Storm, and all the assorted mutants went to work on their former captors.

"Oh, this is how it was **meant** to be, my brothers; mutant standing shoulder-to-shoulder with mutant in the face of **human oppression**!," crowed the Scarlet Witch as she sent another volley of rubble sweeping at the complex, taking out more window poised soldiers. "Let us put aside the quarrel between our **father** and **teacher** and declare this **year zero** for all the species that shall inherit the **Earth**."

Despite the moral qualms with the Brotherhood's belief system, Scott took great satisfaction in the crunching sound and feel of his fist breaking an unlucky soldier's jaw.

"The cattle have been herded into the main block, Colossus," Wanda called across the battlefield. "Would you care to do the honors?"

"He doesn't have the nerve, Wanda," scoffed the helmet wearing Juggernaut.

Between the two major support columns, "Want to bet?" Colossus ground out.

"What are you waiting for, Colossus?" asked Pietro, taking a moment to actually stand still. "These people didn't hesitate while they were torturing you and your mutant brothers. Finish the job before that SHIELD team arrives, you idiot!"

Teeth clenching from strain, "I'm not hesitating here, Quicksilver, my arms just aren't listening to my brain for some reason." He was really trying, but nothing was happening.

"That's because I'm disrupting the signal, Peter," Jean admitted, brow furrowed cutely.

"What?" Scott asked, shocked.

Tears streaked down her face. It had been horrible, this place and these people, but for their wickedness, she just couldn't…

Rogue marched over to Jean. "Girl, somebody needs to shut you-"

"Not today," the still half naked blonde stated, firmly, as his grip on her arm was close to crushing.

"Gah! That hurts, jackass!" she cried out.

"Yeah, well, I'm with red over there," he answered tightly, not letting go. "If there's one thing I know, it's that revenge only spawns further revenge. You kill those soldiers, and things will just get worse down the road."

At the same time, Storm was arguing with Scott, in favor of killing the soldiers. Her reason not so much being what they did to her or them, but what was done to Hank. "Murdering five hundred SHIELD troops and office staff isn't going to make him look human again," he barked and immediately began to regret it. It was a low blow. Biting her lip, Storm began to tear up. Eyes wide, "Storm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to come out like that. Sometimes I just open my mouth without thinking and-

"WRAITH!" the weather witch screeched.

"Ororo, don't! He's not worth it!" Jean yelled, but both she and Scott could already feel the energy arcing off her body.

At the same time, Wraith had finally managed to wrest his helicopter free of Blob's grasp. "See you in the Bahamas, tweetie-pies!" he called back mockingly, completely missing Storm building up for an attack.

"Don't count on it, Wraith!" she screamed.

"Storm, no!" called Colossus. Too late.

The bolt of lightning shot out of her like a thing possessed. Rocketing for the helicopter. Wraith's face contorted into a fearful scowl before…

"WHOOOMP!" the explosion sent out a small shockwave of flames with enough strength to almost knock someone down.

A second, smaller, explosion appeared from thin air a second later in the shape of a small tornado as the blue mutant Naruto had noted earlier and Wraith appeared, escaping the flames.

"_Cooooool!_" Naruto thought, impressed by his ability to teleport.

The blue demon-like man went on a string of unusual words that Naruto couldn't quite understand.

"What did he say?" asked Storm.

"He said enough lives have been ruined in this horrible place, and he wasn't going to let John Wraith turn **you** into a killer, too, Storm," Quicksilver answered, translating the German into English for them, his tone showing a grudging admiration for the teleporter's sense of honor.

Hand snaked behind his back, Wraith yanked out his sidearm, immediately training it on the taxed Kurt.

"Kurt, look out!"

Naruto blurred away from Rogue. He was at Wraith's side in a second, hand wrapped around the gun, crushing it. "That's not a healthy decision," he offered, and shot his arm out, stopping the four small projectiles that would have ended the bastard's life. At the same time, gun shots echoed across the area. "Besides, I don't think your boss is too happy with you." Lowering his arm, the reddish tint in the air faded, and the bullets fell to the snow, though his eyes remained red.

"Who in pity's name now?" Scott asked, exasperated, as they all turned to the massive shadow no one had noticed until just then. Many couldn't help but think "_Oh shit_," at the sight of the massive vessel…not to mention the hundred plus soldiers in crisp uniforms and what looked like heavy armaments.

"And do we have to fight you…mister shiny bald man?" Naruto asked with a grin.

Nick Fury was a patient man. You had to be to see all he'd seen. But this kid, something about him just annoyed the Hell out of him.

"The name's Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD," the dark skinned man answered crisply. Ignoring the blonde, he turned to Cyclops, "I don't believe we've actually met, Cyclops."

Jumping into action, Quicksilver started barking orders. "X-Men, you take the two hundred and fourteen SHIELD agents I'm counting on the left. The Brotherhood will take the four hundred and eleven on my right." Everyone tensed up, ready to fight. "I don't know how much fight we've got left in us, but this shouldn't be impossible," he urged.

"I've got you covered on numbers," Naruto answered quickly. Quicksilver sent a quick glance at the blonde. In a lazy fashion, the blonde raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. In that instant, the clearing, er, warzone was filled with the half naked blondes, all of whom were cracking their knuckles and grinning. Okay, so it was impressive, but if they thought so they didn't show it. Though Iceman's eyes nearly bugged out. Gathering Kyubi's chakra, leaving an honor guard on Wraith, red energy surrounding him, "Ready," he said to the people in charge. He didn't sense any ill will from the guy in charge, Fury, but he would be ready just in case.

Momentarily blinking at suddenly being surrounded and outnumbered, the face of SHIELD was quick into action…to prevent it. "Whoa! Slow down! The guy we were after is over there in the ocean of golden boys." Naruto's eyes twitched. "Everyone else is free to go," Fury finished.

Wanda, hands fisted on her hips, glared at the man before them. "But why would you offer us an amnesty? I'm sorry, but I tend to be suspicious of international spy networks and their well-paid stooges," she spat.

"Not when they're with me, you shouldn't."

Eyes swiveled around to a bloody and battered Wolverine as he shuffled into the throng.

"Wolverine?" asked Wanda, disbelieving.

"Who do you think sprung me outta this dump two years ago this Christmas?" he snarked.

Jean was shocked at the state he was in. "Oh my God! What happened to you? The last we heard, Sabretooth and some of the guards had taken you into the woods…"

Logan stared hard at her with a hint of amusement. "Well, I guess the guards spooked when Wanda and Pietro attacked the base, leaving me and Sabretooth alone to duke it out in the snow for a few hours, Jeannie," he answered with a certain amount of smugness at the memory of the fight.

The institute was fully repaired by the end of the week, all thanks to Nick Fury's connections. And for the time being, most of the residents stayed in the sublevels. They were the only places that had been strong enough to be the least damaged by Wraith's troops. The Professor was recovering in the medical wing while Jean oversaw his healing. Naruto stopped in a few times to see the man, mainly to thank him for helping him to…find…the answers he needed. You couldn't tear the pleased smile from the man's face as he reflected on his students and how strong they had become in surviving Wraith. They had grown together.

A fact that the recovering Professor Xavier could not get over as he remained in the sublevels of the mansion. His students had been tested by the hatred of Wraith and those like him, but they had survived it. Scarred, but unwilling to let it change them.

AN/ What do you think? May rewrite portions if necessary.


End file.
